koyl - Tumblr blog

[koyl]

It took quite some time, mistakes, some non-working parts and efforts, but the N2 is finally done ! I inverted the volume pot and the pickup switch, installed a tone pot and 2 mini-switch to get 3 sounds from the pickups (Humbucker/Split/Parallel). I also fixed the vibrato bar not staying in place issue by putting a piece of earplugs at the bottom of the cavity. And I added some screws to fill the holes left by the screws that were holding the pickguard. Now the guitar plays like a dream, with the most comfortable neck I’ve ever played. The small body feels amazing too. A huge part of what make this guitar great for what I do is the OMNIA pickups by @havenpickups . They are no less than the pickups I’ve always wanted to have. They are the most clear sounding and well balanced humbucker pickups, so much that even if the split & parallel sounds are a welcome addition to one’s sound palette, they are not an absolute necessity: You can play anything, just with the Humbucker option: from cristal clea post-rock arpeggios to funk, reggae, etc… They are incredibly well balanced too. But the most impressive thing about them is their behavior: they are consistent. You get the same kind of reaction whatever the note. It’s especially important when half of what you do rely on the interaction between sounds, playing techniques and effects… I’ll make some video to show that up. So big shout out to Till who made those and was great to talk too. . . . . \#guitar #newguitar #ngd #vintageguitar #guitarmakeover #washburnn2 #ambientguitar #experimentalguitar #texturalguitar #havenpickups #omniapickups https://www.instagram.com/p/CoumTCwtIoy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[koyl]

I received my 2 OMNIA pickups from @havenpickups today and decided on the wiring. Time to order the rest of the parts. . . . . #guitar #newguitar #ngd #vintageguitar #guitarmakeover #washburnn2 #ambientguitar #experimentalguitar #texturalguitar #havenpickups #omniapickups  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnm5D_gNlIV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[koyl]

Let's look under the hood of the Washburn N2 to see what kind of work there is to do... Pic 1: The removing of the steel pickguard left some marks, which was to be expected. I don't think there's much to do apart from trying to hide the screw holes. Time and usage will take care of unifying the wood color. Notice the screws holding the pickup rings are pickguard screws, which are much too big. Pic 2: We were only getting started with the weird screwing business. Removing the vibrato backplate reveals another level of mess. The plate wasn't original, and, too small, hence the new holes. I've tried Stratocaster plates and they are too small indeed so I guess I will just not use a vibrato plate. It will make setting up the vibrato quicker: Not a bad thing. Pic 3 & 4: Biggest WTF moment was when I discovered the insides of the electronic cavities. The "shielding" was done with several small pieces of aluminum paper without anything making conductivity possible between those and they are not grounded.. This is a great example of how NOT to make a Faraday cage. This DIY shielding is pretty much useless. Oh, and the switch cavity plate was closed with pickup rings screws ! Pic 5: I managed to remove the aluminum foil and what seems to be double-side tape. It turned into a gooey mess while doing so. There's still some traces but it's not gluey anymore so I guess it's good enough to make a proper Faraday cage. Not sure if I'll do it in the switch cavity because it's very small and it might touch what I'll put in there (it won't be a switch...) Now I'm waiting for the pickups to get here so I can decide on the wiring and what parts to order. To be continued... . . . #guitar #newguitar #ngd #vintageguitar #guitarmakeover #washburnn2 #ambientguitar #experimentalguitar #texturalguitar https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnkdpiht5Dd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[koyl]

(This is part 3 of the story of how and why I bought this highly modified 30 years shredder guitar... See previous posts for part 1 & 2) 5 days later, the guitar was delivered to me... So how is it ?? Well, the bare wood, smaller than usual body feels really great and the neck is absolutely fantastic ! It's very flat (14" radius), wide and thin, which suits my crooked fingers very well. It is really a revelation that makes me wonder why I hadn't try those types of guitar before. The body of the guitar has its share of battlescars, which I'm OK with. It makes me less scared of damaging a vintage guitar. The pickguard will go and the pickups too. The "fake" Bill Lawrence is incredibly shrill sounding and the neck one, A DiMarzio PAF Pro sounds OK. There's a whole horror story to the screws and cavities that I'll  tell later, as I'll work on the guitar makeover. Some news pickups are on their way and I plan to get creative with the wiring to make it very useful for what I do... more on that soon... 🙂 . . . . #guitar #newguitar #ngd #vintageguitar #guitarmakeover #washburnn2 #ambientguitar #experimentalguitar #texturalguitar https://www.instagram.com/p/CnhXgtftQwR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[koyl]

(This is part 2 of the story of how and why I bought this highly modified 30 years shredder guitar... See previous post for part 1) When I was about 17 yo, I got a Washburn N2 @nunobettencourtofficial signature guitar... After all this time I still remember the feel of the wooden body and how different the neck felt from the previous guitar I had which was very intriguing... Sadly I wasn't able to tell if I liked it or not since the vibrato had an issue which got me to return the guitar to the store 2 weeks later and trade it for a cheap Les Paul copy (insert hashtag #worstdecisionever ). I looked for those on the 2nd hand market several times over the years, and did so once again last summer. Found some on Reverb and followed some of the listings, including this very guitar. I had no real reason to get one at the time and not knowing if I'd still like the guitar, I forgot about them.. Until I found them back after thinking a Floyd Rose equipped guitar could be an interesting tool for atmospheres, texture creation and extended playing techniques. By then, the price of this guitar had dropped quite a bit. Not surprising since it's been heavily modified with a steel pickguard (which I think ruins the very charm of a bare-wood guitar) and a contoured headstock (I think it looks rather cool actually). Both are a great way to kiil the resale value of a 30+ year guitar ! (This model is still under production but the quality has nothing to do with those early models). Weeks went on and the price dropped a bit more, and again, and again... I decided that if it goes down to "this" price, I'd buy it. And it did.. so I emailed the seller to ask him general questions about the condition of the guitar and the, most probably not-original black vibrato. He confirmed everything was good and playable and said the vibrato was a Schaller... Oh ! Schaller Floyd Rose vibratos are among the best on the market so it was very good news. A click later, I had purchased a shredder guitar, the one I should have had since when I was a teenager. Part 3 of the story in next post.... . . . . #guitar #newguitar #ngd #vintageguitar #washburnn2 #ambientguitar #experimentalguitar https://www.instagram.com/p/CnhXGI9tSA7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[koyl]

So yes, I bought a "shredder guitar" 🙃 ... Here is the story of how and why: Those past couple of months, I got back to live-looping improvisations (lots of new stuff are coming up for @kolyder in 2023 !) and got to experience the mild frustration of using synths as sound sources in that context. No matter how much effects or modulations I use, synths have always felt too static for me. By  contrast, what I like about guitars is that you can't really play the same note in the same way twice: there're all kind of subtleties, overtones, interactions and resonances happening, and also an immediacy I've never found in synths. So I started to think about relying heavily on guitars again and about ways to emphasis these organic characteristics... Having a Floyd Rose equipped guitar came to mind and seemed like a good way to play with micro-pitch variations and resonances, add variety to my phrasing and more. ....Story to be continued in next post.... . . . . #guitar #newguitar #ngd #vintageguitar #guitarmakeover #washburnn2 #ambientguitar #experimentalguitar #texturalguitar https://www.instagram.com/p/CnhWwFJt_CC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[koyl]

A few (badly framed) pics from the amazing performance of @gasparclaus yesterday at @aerolille . I knew nothing about Gaspar's music before attending, and not only did I got to hear great cello pieces, I was also happily surprised by the fact that the cello was actually looped and processed live in very intricate ways by his accomplice @basile3_ . It stuck many chords since it's when I tired taking on playing the cello many years ago, that I got into live-looping, and that it's the kind of thing (live looping and processing) I did in @dys_connect, but with vocals. The performance was very wide in terms of moods, from delicate to very heavy. Those pics were taken during what I'd call the "Sunn0))) moment", when the cello bow was replaced by a D.I.Y electrical "bow" that allowed the 4 strings to be played at the same time. Don't miss this show if you get a chance to attend ! . . . . . #cello #livemusic #lille #gasparclaus #livelooping #ambientmusic #neoclassical #experimentalmusic (à L'Aéronef) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZrz0qiNyw1/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

After more than half a year of wait, the OXI One sequencer is finally here ! I haven't really tried it yet but the built and feel is amazing. I decided to found it and get one because it can do pretty much everything (mono and poly sequence, chords, arpeggiators... it can even be used as a monome Grid) and works with MIDI and CV so it'll be great for tying the modular and Ableton. I want to give a shout out to the @oxiinstruments team who made waiting for this sequencer a great experience: constantly communicating the advancements of the project, asking questions and listening to the future users, improving things to make it even better and being really accessible overall. It almost hard to believe it was their 1st project since they have done what a lot of companies with way more experience are struggling with (Not to name names but I have no idea when I'll get my SP404 Mk2... ^^). Thanks a lot guys: you nailed it ! Now I'll try to honor your work by making good use of it. :) . . . . #oxionesequencer #musicproduction #electronicmusic #modularsynth #newgear https://www.instagram.com/p/CZPr883NvxD/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

Since @nineinchnails is celebrating the 20 years of their live DVD release "And all that could have been", shot by @rob_sheridan who also did all the graphic design for it, here is my copy of it, alongside my concert ticket of their show in Lille during the legendary pre-Year Zero tour. I watched this DVD an insane amount of times. . . . . #nineinchnails #industrialmusic #musicmemorabilia #robsheridan #thishis whenyourealizehowoldyouare https://www.instagram.com/p/CZC33QHtOk9/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

Today is the 1st year anniversary of the release of this remix I did of @gimsonmusic 's track "We're not children". One year later, I'm still very happy about how it turned out (which is quite rare !) and I consider this track to be the best I've ever produced, and this despite the not-so-good place I was (and we were) in, which was at the end of the first lockdown. I recently thought a lot about why that is... The only answer I found is: Because the original track and Gimson's lyrics and delivery was super inspiring. I don't remember making this remix as a struggle, it was all flow. (Making the video was another story.. 😆). So check out @Gimsonmusic , he's the real deal and he has released more gems since then. Track is available on every streaming platforms, on both of our Bandcamps and you can watch the video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/wA7PcFEs360 . . . . . #hiphop ##hiphopremix #remix #musicvideo #ukhiphop #beats https://www.instagram.com/p/CV8M7IyNwA1/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

This is an excerpt of the track I made for the SPARK Alev Lenz Library Competition. Listen to the full track on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/koyl/a-spark-for-alev To celebrate the 2 year anniversary of @alev_lenz ’s album ‘3’ and its corresponding sound library, @sa_recordings launched a composition competition. The goal was to create a track of 4 minutes max, using only the sounds provided in the library, plus our own recorded audio if we wanted to. I added some self-recorded guitar parts to my track. All the other sounds are from the library, including the drums. Even though there are no drum sounds per se to be found in this library, I crafted every drum hits from the sounds in it (and I can prove it ! 😁 ). I must say it was an interesting challenge to be able to do whatever I wanted with a chosen sound palette. Hope you enjoy ! . . . . #musicproduction #musicproducer #electronicmusic #triphop #ambient #postrock #sarecordings #spitfireaudio #soundlibrary #samplelibrary https://www.instagram.com/p/CVOCh9tApeL/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

Last of the Loupé video series but not least... Might be my favorite because it shows the huge possibilities of the device, and of advanced live-looping techniques. It was done using a single Gamelan instrument VST plugin, looped and processed in many different ways. . . . . #looper #livelooping #looping #liveloopingartist #liveloopingperformance #glougloufx #loupe #glouglouloupe #glougloufxloupe #gamelan #glitch https://www.instagram.com/p/CVGCuQ4AWxP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

This one is pretty fun. I'm sure you know the story: You are preparing to record some music, just checking out your gear, balancing levels or else... And after a couple of minutes, something interesting happens but you weren't recording it ! This is what happened when I shot this video, and I was bummed I hadn't captured the 1st minutes... Then I remembered about the "Scroll" function of the Loupé ! This function is not about scrolling through the recording buffer, No: It's a time machine ! It allows to go back in time and listen to previous instants of the loop, kind of like an Undo function, except you don't "undo" anything and can go back to the present without modifying the past... Well, you can modify the past, which will change the present.. But it's at your own risk and @glougloufx won't take any responsability... so it's up to you but we all know what happens to Marty when he starts to disappear from the picture.. Long story short: This is what you see in the video: I'm scrolling through past versions of the loop so you can hear what happened before I started to shoot the video. . . . . . #looper #livelooping #looping #liveloopingartist #liveloopingperformance #glougloufx #loupe #glouglouloupe #glougloufxloupe #timetravel #martymcfly #mcfly #backtothefuture https://www.instagram.com/p/CU2vS_TgT2u/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

Let's welcome Victor Alpha 1 by @modulaire_maritime ! He's coming all the way from Marseille, France to get onboard this weird ship. . . . . . . #modularsynth #modularsynthesizer #eurorack #eurorackmodular #newmodule #mixer https://www.instagram.com/p/CUcgR5ntXiV/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

This live looping video is all about guitars meeting the pitch and bit reduction functions of Loupé ( and very bad gain staging… ^^) . . . . . #looper #livelooping #looping #liveloopingartist #liveloopingperformance #glougloufx #loupe #glouglouloupe #glougloufxloupe #guitarlooping #guitarsoundscape #ambientguitar #postrock https://www.instagram.com/p/CUYZS-nA9x6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

This Loupé Timelapse is from the same session as the previous post, and heavily makes use of the "Replace" function, which is like an overdub with the feedback/regeneration of the loop set to zero, thus allowing to replace the sound previously recorded with what is being played. So what you hear is still 100% quite dry guitar. Maybe I should start as techno project using only guitars ? . . . . . #guitarlooping #guitarsoundscape #ambientguitar #postrock #looper #livelooping #looping #liveloopingartist #liveloopingperformance #glougloufx #loupe #glouglouloupe #glougloufxloupe https://www.instagram.com/p/CR9QOiygLXn/?utm_medium=tumblr

[koyl]

Today's Loupé Timelapse was done using a guitar with a very basic tone. Like yesterday timelapse, it shows the beauty of the pitch function when used in a musical way. . . . . . #guitarlooping #guitarsoundscape #ambientguitar #postrock #looper #livelooping #looping #liveloopingartist #liveloopingperformance #glougloufx #loupe #glouglouloupe #glougloufxloupe https://www.instagram.com/p/CRlrp6Oqr0P/?utm_medium=tumblr